Love is a Fickle Thing
by telmeastory
Summary: Pardons have been granted and the team is moving on when the past comes back to haunt them. With time running out, how will Templeton Peck (Faceman) be able to handle everything?
1. Chapter 1: Let's Begin Our Tale

The man stared down at his hands. He was not exactly a young man anymore, but he wasn't old either. Didn't help that they still called him kid, but that was part of the gig.

That thought set his head straight. Kid. That's why he was here. That is why he had gone through everything over the past few weeks. To set this up. To save them. It was a now or never sort of deal. And for their sake, it was now.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door in a commanding way. Everything he had done in his life was preparation. It was now that his skills would truly be put to the test. He smiled up as the door slowly creaked open and a pair of green eyes peeked out from behind it.

"Good evening, my name is…."

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 **3 weeks before**

Shaking his sandy blond locks, he stepped out of the corvette. Templeton Peck was finally a free man, as were the rest of the A-Team. They had survived General Stockwell's gauntlet and were granted their pardons.

The first few months following their freedom had been sweet. The team had become celebrities. They were on talk shows everywhere, discussing the men versus the myth. There had been talk about book deals and TV appearances on top of a movie, or possibly a television show. Temp wondered who they would get to play him. Maybe that handsome guy from Battlestar Galactica….Nah, probably not.

The fame had been fun. Of course it hadn't really been fun all the way around and quickly wore the team out. Templeton, known by the moniker Faceman, was obviously alright with the fame. BA didn't like having the cameras in his face all the time, Murdock couldn't care less about fame and fortune, just his girlfriend, and Hannibal was more interested in being a monster in films again.

The one thing they all agreed on was that their freedom had begun to get in the way of them taking jobs. Not that they really needed the clients and cases anymore since they had been given their freedom, but it complicated their desire to do good anyway.

As such, the team had splintered a bit. BA took his fame and opened a few mechanics garages as well as a few youth centers across the country. Murdock invested some of his funds in buying the diner he had been working at, though he was still buy scrubbing the floors rather than running the place. Hannibal initially went back to find some films. Face, being face, had decided to stay in the spotlight. Heck, he was even debating the idea of running for office.

And life had calmed down a bit. The newness of their fame was wearing off and the team was able to get back to their lives. They even still took the odd case, though Face sometimes wondered if that was more so Hannibal could just keep dressing up as different characters. As soon as that thought had entered his mind, he dismissed it. He knew Hannibal only wanted to help people. It was why the Colonel had taken him under his wing in the first place.

Wait, it was General now.

That's right, with their pardons, everyone had bent over backwards to thank them. That included the US Army. Hannibal had been granted the rank of a Major General, Murdock raised to a Lieutenant Colonel, BA to Command Sergeant Major and Face on up to Major. They had also all been subsequently granted immediate discharges, making them regular citizens again. It was a strange feeling.

Things had attempted to settle into a rhythm. And they more or less had. That was until the past had trudged back into their lives.

Face had been at a ball honoring the mayor of LA. As a local celebrity, Face was invited. He had spent the evening wandering around, several different lovely young women trying to drape themselves across his arm. He was only in his mid-30s and still incredibly attractive. They did not call him Faceman for no reason. He was on his second glass of champagne when he turned and stopped in his tracks.

Before him, actually moving in his direction was none other than Amy Allen. Triple A as Hannibal had once called her. Kid as face had called her more than once. She was something special to everyone on the team. Or she had been. Her work and coverage of their endeavors had earned her a foreign correspondents position that most would kill for. The team had been happy for her…mostly.

Things had gone well for a bit. She had kept in touch when possible, but after about a year, even that failed. She drifted away from the team. And they had drifted from her.

Well, almost all of them. No one seemed to know that he followed nearly every story she had written. He watched the paper for anything he could about and from her. Not that she would ever know.

And now here she was standing before him. As their eyes met, Face felt like he wanted to melt into the wall. He really wasn't sure he could handle this. But Ms. Allen seemed to have other plans. She strolled right up to him and Face couldn't help but grin at the look of determination on her face.

"Well if it isn't Templeton Peck." She came up and wrapped him in a slight hug, one like you would expect at such a social gathering. As she did, she whispered in his ear. "I need to talk to you later."

Then she released the hug and just turned and walked away. There was no more and Face was too stunned to follow after her. His most recent "friend" grabbed his arm to get his attention and pouted when he just kept staring after the woman.

So Face went through the rest of the evening, lost in his thoughts and unsure of what exactly to expect next. It wasn't even until he reached into his coat pocket that he found the note she had slipped in. That made him smile. She may have learned something from him after all.

He looked down at the note. It mentioned a quiet road about 3 miles out of town. The note said midnight. Face checked his watch and saw that he had around 15 minutes to get there. On the other side of town and then some more. Well Amy certainly didn't make this easy. And it worried him.


	2. Chapter 2: The Client

As Face slowed down in front of the place she had indicated in her note, he sighed. It had been 4 years since he had heard from her and 5 since he had seen her. He wasn't really sure what to make of this, but he had to admit that it intrigued him. Now here he was at a small gas station well outside of town. The lighting wasn't great and the place didn't look open. But the note said here at midnight and as he stepped out of the car, the clock struck midnight.

Face stood up and noticed a light come on inside the store. He carefully strolled over. Sure he was free, but the exploits of the A-Team had earned them a great deal of enemies. He still had to be cautious as he went. He came to the door and found that it swung open with a gentle push. After a quick glance around, Face stepped fully into the room.

"Hello Face."

The voice came from the back of the store, where it was still dark. Face peered into the darkness when the voice called out again, and this time he knew who it belonged to.

"Well is that the only reaction I'm going to get from you?"

Suddenly Face charged back and wrapped his arms around her. He had missed her so much, though he had never told another living soul about it. Well almost no one else. But she had affected him something awful. He hadn't felt anything that intense since…Leslie.

Face shook the thoughts from his head. He knew he didn't have time for this. All that mattered at the moment was that she was here, right now. But why was she here.

As they broke their hug, he held her at arm's length and took her in. Amy had always been gorgeous. If she hadn't been a client and then a team member, Face would probably have tried to get her into bed with him. Instead, something strange had happened to him. He had seen how strong and confidant she was and he had come to respect her. She had helped him in scams and was as tough as any other member of the team. And somehow, Face knew he cared for her.

How he had missed her.

But she was here right now and had asked him to meet her. From the look on her face, it was something serious. So he stopped, calmed himself, and motioned for her to continue.

"Well it is good to see you too Face. But I guess you are wondering why I am here?"

"Well, not entirely. You always seem to show up at random times with some sort of case for us."

Amy had a sheepish grin on her face as he said that. She had missed his voice, though she would never tell anyone. She had missed the entire team really, but Face…well anyway. And he knew her so well.

"You….are right. Ok, it is true, I'm here about a possible case. Well, not possible. It is a case. I'm just hoping you'll take it."

"Ah, I see. Well lay it out and let's see where things stand, shall we?" Face offered her his trademark grin. The smile he received in return was not nearly as full as he had hoped it would be. Of course he wasn't sure how he felt about it anyway since it seemed she was only here for his help, not exactly for him.

"Ok, well here is the thing Face, One of the guys I work with, he was kidnapped. He was working on a story for the paper and apparently discovered something big. He disappeared about a month ago, but just before that, I got a phone call from him. He had found his big break on the story. Told me he would be back in a week. Again, that was around a month ago."

Face noticed a sad look in her eyes, but decided not to press. She would tell him if and when she wanted. First he needed to focus on getting the team.

"Sounds like its right up our alley Amy. Let me call Hannibal and we can get the tea-"

"I don't think that will work Face." Amy interrupted him. Face saw her looking down at his feet. He was confused now. He couldn't call the team? Why on earth not?

"Why won't that work Amy?" Amy had a shiver run down her spine. It happened every time he said her name. She shook the sensation off and looked into his eyes.

"I've already been working with the team. I got in touch with Hannibal two weeks ago."

"Ah, did he say no? Is this like that 'ask mom then ask dad' sort of thing?"

Amy did not respond immediately. She looked down at her feet. Face suddenly felt like something was horribly wrong. He stood quietly for a moment before he heard the sniffles. It was Amy! She was crying! He instantly pulled her into a hug close against him as she unleashed her sobs into his chest. Face just held her comfortingly.

"There there, it will be alright." After a few minutes, she calmed down and brought her eyes up to face him.

"I'm not sure Face. See, Hannibal did take the job. Him, Murdock, and BA all came over to help." Face froze at that. The team had gone without him? Was he really that absorbed into everything? Sure he hadn't heard from them in a while, but that was just because they were all busy. Hannibal had just started a new film abroad, Murdock was going on a trip with his Girlfriend, and BA was traveling cross-country to check on his youth centers.

Face froze. It really had been two weeks since he had seen everyone. The entire team. They had scammed him. How? Why? The questions on his face must have been apparent because Amy went on.

"Hannibal asked that you not know. Said something about you not being able to think straight. He was worried about your reaction, he said. I don't know what he meant. But then things went bad. They were caught. I haven't been in touch with them in a week now. As soon as I knew they were caught, I began making plans to get out here, to see you." She broke down, once again crying into his chest. "I'm so sorry Face, I just didn't know what else to do."

Face just held her for a moment. He was unsure of what to do himself. Hannibal hadn't wanted him on this mission? In nearly two decades of working together, this was the first time he had ever had that happen. Did Hannibal not trust him? What on earth could have happened. It hurt. Face loved Hannibal. Hannibal was the closest thing to a father Face had ever had. And Hannibal did not trust him? How could that be? He stopped for a moment, waiting as Amy let out her last few sobs. He needed to know a few more things.

"Amy, do you have any idea why Hannibal would not want me to come?" Amy stopped and stared at him for a moment, almost like she was debating on whether to tell him something or not. Finally, letting out a sigh, she dove in.

"Well, he made the decision after I told him that Jason was my fiancé."

Face felt everything in him drop.

Then it clicked. Hannibal knew. Everyone else he could deceive, but he had never been smart enough to fool Hannibal. The man had taught him everything he knew. Murdock and BA were his brothers, best friends, but Hannibal was the leader. He was the father of their little family. Hannibal knew how Face felt about Amy and knew that trying to save her finance…well, he knew Face might not be able to do it.

"I see."

"Face, I'm so sorry. I'm just so scared." Face held Amy, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Don't worry Amy, we'll get them back, I promise." She looked up at him. Face wondered if she had realized what the Colonel knew and wondered if her look was meant as a question or to see if he meant what he said. All Face could do was stare back. He would do anything for this woman, even if it meant saving her betrothed so she could be with someone else. He simply wanted to ensure that she was happy. He hate seeing her breakdown like this.

"All of them. I promise kid."

Amy could see the ice in Face's eyes. It was intimidating, nearly terrifying. She wasn't really sure what her response should be, but she knew that Face meant every word he had said to her.

And for the first time in weeks, she felt safe. She realized how tired she was as she faded into darkness, collapsing in his arms.

Face carefully lifted the unconscious Amy and carried her to his 'vette. He knew it was now or never. It was time to call in some favors, talk to old friends, and get ready. Usually he had his team, his family behind him when he went on these missions. This time he only had himself and the love of his life.

Even if she did love someone else.


	3. Chapter 3: Calling in 'Favors'

Face shifted his weight back and forth. He was trying to psych himself up for this meeting. It was going to be a long day. He had called in some favors and all of those people were arriving now. He sat in his living room. Amy was still asleep in the bedroom. He'd brought her back to his place when she had passed out, unsure of what else to do. When he brought her in, he really wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew why.

The 'why' was in his arms. And she finally had a happy look on his face. It was the first real one he had seen since she had come back into his life.

After he had carefully removed her jacket, he laid her in the bed. He debated trying to help her undress, but he was already having a hard enough time with his own emotions and he did not need that complication. Instead, he undid the top button on her blouse, hoping it would make her more comfortable. Then he pulled the covers up and tucked her in.

He'd had some phone calls to make. While all had, hopefully, gotten him the final result he was hoping for, there had been a few complications.

Upon hearing a knock at the door, Face rose for the first of those complications. As he pulled the door back, in stepped Jackie Taylor. She gave him a quick peck on the lips which Face did not fully return, receiving a pout from the Business mogul.

"Come on now honey, what's eating you?" Face smiled, leading her over to the couch to have a seat.

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 _Flashback_

 _Jackie picked up the phone on the third ring._

" _Hello?" The voice on the other end was not one she had ever expected to hear again._

" _Hey Jackie, its Templeton." Jackie nearly dropped the phone. It had been several years since she had heard from him. They had stayed in touch shortly following their marriage. Jackie hadn't told anyone, but she found the blonde man attractive and intriguing. Sure, there were several women who found him handsome, but she had discovered he was a complicated man. While she had dated other people, there had always been a special place in her heart for him._

" _Well hello honey, how are ya doin'?" Jackie's Texas drawl rang through the phone and Face smiled. He had been married to her briefly and he had to admit it had been terrifying. No, no the guns, choppers, and getting shot at. Being married to one woman, that part intimidated him. Of course he had discovered over time that Ms. Taylor was actually a pretty amazing woman. If he hadn't already been falling for someone else at that point, he might have tried with her._

 _The two had stayed in touch. They had even seen each other a few more times when Ms Taylor needed an escort to some specific situations where, as she stated it, she didn't trust the snakes in there and just felt safer on the arms of her hero. They had cultivated a strange relationship. It always felt like more than a friendship, but neither acted on it besides the casual peck here or there._

 _Face decided he should fill her in, considering all he was going to ask._

" _Not good, to be honest Jackie. Hannibal and the guys were on a mission and they got caught." Jackie found it odd that they were caught, but that Face wasn't. She let it go for the moment._

" _I'm sorry Face, can I do anything to help?"_

" _That's actually why I'm calling. Do you still happen to have any business connections in Indonesia?"_

" _Face, honey, I have business connections everywhere. Why?"_

" _I'm going to need to get a few things when I get over there and I don't really have the time to set up and run a good enough scam."_

 _Jackie frowned. Things must be dire if Face was willing to forego scamming something and actually buy it. She also noted the stress in his voice._

" _Face, where are you at?"_

" _In LA, why?"_

" _Stay there, I'm coming to see you."_

" _Jackie, you really don't need to do that. I can handle myself."_

" _Oh I know that. I'm more worried about what you plan on doing when you get overseas. Stay right there, I'll be there soon."_

 _With that the line went dead. Face had something between a frown and a grin on his face. Jackie Taylor was something else, that was for sure._

 _End of Flashback_

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And now here in his living room sat the beautiful rich business woman. She had grown into her own since the A-team had helped her. She was no longer the party girl with the stress of business thrust upon her. Now she was a confidant, strong woman with a willingness and energy to make the business world shake when she had a mind to. And she was here to help him. He wasn't sure how far she planned on taking that and Face was sure he didn't want to see anyone hurt.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by another knock at the door. Face swiftly rose to his feet, offering an apologetic look to Jackie before trotting over to open the door. Before him stood the alluring Lane Carter who had taken over her uncle's ranch after getting in trouble during the A-Team's intervention in his illegal activities. Lane had been upset about things at first, but she was intrigued by the roguish Faceman and had eventually warmed to the team. She leaned in and gave Face a peck on the cheek and a sly look. When he did not offer much in return, the cattle baroness felt her own smile fall a bit.

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 _Flashback_

 _Lane had happened to be sitting at her desk when the phone rang. Sure it was early, but it was best that way. She was getting ready for a long ride to check the ranch lands with some of her ranch hands, so she needed to settle this before she got going. She was just getting ready to head out when the phone rang._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hi Lane." Lane dropped the phone when she heard his voice. Her hand shook as she picked it back up, staring at it. She put it up to her ear and heard him trying to check on her through the phone._

" _-ello, Lane? Are you alright? Lane?" Lane smiled. It was just like him to be worried, even over a phone. For all that he tried to act like the ladies' man, Templeton was far nicer than that. He truly cared. It had been a while since the two had spoken. Their last meeting had not ended well. Lane had thought they had a special connection, but just as she tried to get closer, he'd had to run off for a mission. Not that she blamed him, but it had always made her a bit sad._

" _I'm fine Templeton, how are you?" Lane hoped her voice didn't crack with the emotions she was trying to hide._

" _Not good Lane. Not good at all. But I need your help. Do you still have some connections to those gunsmiths in Texas?" Lane could hear the pain in his voice. This was a side of Templeton she had not heard before. He had always been so cool and confidant. What was going on?_

" _Yes, but why Face?"_

" _Well, Hannibal and the guys were captured on a mission. I need to go save them."_

 _Lane paused and thought about it. He needed to go save them? Shouldn't he have been with them? He had left her in order to go on a mission with them. Why wasn't he there now? Lane put the questions out of her mind as she made her decision._

" _Templeton, where are you at?"_

" _My apartment in LA, why?"_

" _Stay there, I'm on my way."_

 _End of Flashback_

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Face shook his head. He should have seen that coming as soon as Jackie had decided she was coming. He turned and escorted Lane into the living room. As he did, Lane and Jackie saw one another and joined each other on the couch. There were some smiles and a quick glance told Face that these two knew one another. Of course why wouldn't they? A Texas Business mogul and a cattle baroness? Naturally the two crossed paths. Probably even enjoyed the same social circles.

He did get nervous when the two both looked his direction after a few minutes. He smiled back, assuming they were both trying to figure out why they knew him and what they were both doing there. Of course the intensity of their stares was interrupted by yet one more knock at the door. Face jumped to his feet and rushed over to open the door.

The short blond woman jumped into his arms as he did, planting a huge kiss on his cheek in the process. When she felt his reluctance in her embrace, Stevie Faith let her legs fall as he set her on the ground.

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 _Flashback_

 _Stevie woke from her slumber to the ringing of her telephone. After another late concert, she was barely awake when she pulled the phone off the hook and to her ear._

" _Hello?" she mumbled it tiredly into the receiver._

" _Hi Stephanie." Stevie froze. She had only told that to one person. The one person who had somehow ever made her feel like more than some distanced rock star. Well, really the whole team had, but he was different. She knew her own voice was trembling as she spoke._

" _Hello Face."_

" _How are you doing Stevie?" She could feel something in his voice. He didn't sound as cool and confidant as he typically did._

" _I'm fine other than being woken up by you, jerk. How are you?"_

" _I've been better. I need your help, if you have a minute?"_

' _For you, all the time in the world.' Stevie thought to herself._

" _I might have some time. What's up?"_

" _Well, you are still starting that international tour soon, right?" How did he know about that? Stevie thought. She hadn't been able to see or find much about him and the team, but he seemed to know things about her that weren't even public yet. Of course it meant he had been thinking about her. She went on, trying to hide the nerves she felt._

" _That's the plan, why?"_

" _Any chance of you doing a pre-visit for said tour to, I don't know, Indonesia?"_

" _Why Face?" She could feel the tension thickening on the other end. When Face spoke again, Stevie could have sworn she almost heard a sob._

" _Hannibal and the guys were captured on a case. I need to go rescue them."_

 _Stevie froze, sadness filling her. She really liked the A-team. If they had been caught…wait, why were only the other three caught? Indonesia? And Face wasn't with them? She desperately wanted to ask, but something told her not to. And the frustration in Face's voice made her decision for her._

" _Face, where are you at?"_

" _My Apartment in LA…See you soon?" Stevie giggled at that. How did he know?_

" _Yes."_

 _End of Flashback._


	4. Chapter 4: The decision Has Been Made

Face carefully led Stevie into the living room. She joined the other two women on the couch. Everyone seemed surprised to see one another, but it was clear they had all met before. When Face cleared his throat to get their attention, they all looked at him.

And it immediately became obvious how they all felt about him.

"Ladies, I want to thank you for being here. I should have known better than to think you all wouldn't come. I need all of your help."

The ladies stopped their momentary glances at one another to give Face their full attention. Jackie spoke first.

"You know we're all here for you honey. Whatever you need."

"Thank you again. See, an old friend came to me today. She had convinced Hannibal to help her on a case in Indonesia. He, BA, and Murdock all went to help her out. Unfortunately, they were caught."

They all sat for a moment. Then Stevie, being the boldest, asked what they all desperately wanted to know.

"Not that we all mind coming to see you, but why weren't you with them, Face?" Face hesitated. It was only a moment, but the three women all knew him well enough that it did not go unnoticed. He had stood to pace before them and as he spoke his next words, his back was to them.

"I was too busy being in the spotlight."

All three women nodded their acknowledgement of his words. All three women knew he was lying.

At that exact moment, Amy came into the living room stretching. Jackie and Lane had both met her before, but it had been quite a while. Stevie had not, but she had heard the team talk about the famous Ms. Allen.

Amy stopped in her steps seeing the three women sitting there, all staring at her. She had always felt she was on good terms with the team's clients, but in that moment she wasn't so sure. Face stepped up and decided to break the tension.

"Ladies, meet Ms. Amy Allen, the client who Hannibal and the team were helping." He stopped to face Amy, his hands carefully coming to her shoulders. Amy felt sad when he referred to her as the client. She wasn't really sure why it hurt so much. And these three beautiful women sitting in the apartment also struck a nerve with her. "How did you sleep kid?"

There was a slight grin on Amy's face. She was torn. She had slept incredibly well, all things considered. It was actually the best night of sleep she'd had since before Jason had been captured. But Face had started calling her kid again. She didn't like that. She preferred when he said her name.

"I slept fine Face, thank you." As their eyes met, there was tension in the air. Face forced himself to tear away, escorting Amy over to a chair before taking the final seat in the room.

"Ok ladies, once again thank you. I need to go save the team and finish their mission. In order to do that, however, I'm going to need some favors from you three, if you don't mind."

"What would that be, Face?" Lane spoke next. There was a small amount of tension in the room. All four women cared for Face far more than they would ever admit to his face. Face stood, facing the three women on the couch. He addressed Lane first.

"Lane, you have connections to some of the best gun smiths in Texas. I'm going to need some help from them in order to get the supplies I need first." He paused before turning to Stevie. "Stevie, I will then need to get to Indonesia. You could get me and the weapons there on the guise of preparing for you tour. You wouldn't even have to go, just send me and some supplies to 'scope out venues' or something." Finally, Face turned to Jackie, his ex-wife. That thought made him chuckle a bit. "And Jackie, you have connections to people who can get me what I need once I get there. Usually I would try to scam something up, but the guys have already been caught for a week and I need to move fast. I'm willing to spend the money; they will just need to know they can trust me. I'll need your help with that."

With his piece said, Face froze. He was watching the three women to see what they would do. It was Stevie who spoke next, but the other two seemed to agree.

"Face, could you give us a moment to chat with Ms. Allen?" Face froze.

"Ladies, I don't think that's wise. We really don't have the time and Ms. Allen has been very stressed. She is incre-"

"Sure Face, let me speak with them." Amy cut him off. Face looked down at her, incredulous. After a moment's hesitation, he turned to go to the door.

"Fine. I'll go for a walk. I'll be back in about 20 minutes." Face tore the door open and strolled out. He really didn't have time for this. He pulled the door closed behind his back. He was cautious, all things considered. Having these four famous women come to his apartment suddenly made him very aware of what he was doing. He turned and decided he should make a quick pass to see if everything was alright.

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 _Back in the Apartment_

All four women suddenly had large grins on their faces.

"Wow, I've never seen him look so flustered." Lane said, smiling over at Amy.

"I have once." Jackie said, offering a knowing smile at Amy who just laughed back. The laughter caused the other two women to look at her. Amy decided to explain.

"Stevie, Lane, Face had to marry Jackie during the case in order to execute Hannibal's plan and get us out safely. That has to be the most nervous I have ever seen or heard him. We had to remind him of his lines during the ceremony."

At her words, all three women on the couch froze, their smiles falling. They all thought back to their recent conversations on the phone with Face and one thought filled all their minds. 'it was not the most nervous I've ever heard him.' Amy noticed their somber mood swing.

"What?" Stevie went next.

"Amy, can you tell us why Face didn't go on the mission with Hannibal and the guys? Don't they usually do everything as a team?"

"Yeah, he said something about being too caught up in the spotlight. Now I know that Face is a show off. Heck, all of us know how much he loves the limelight. But come on honey, he would drop everything in a heartbeat for those guys. We all know that." Jackie added her part. Suddenly Amy felt her bright mood fall.

"I'm not sure to tell the truth. But it seems to have come back to bite them in the end." Amy thought back to her conversation with Face. The look in his eyes, his treatment of her since she told him about Jason. She knew. She would never tell him, but she knew. And she knew he wasn't wrong. She had spent a great deal of time wondering if she and Jason were right.

After a few moments of silence, the ladies returned to the conversation. They talked about helping Face and made their decisions.

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Face returned to the apartment. During his stroll outside, he had noticed a blue sedan that was new. He'd made a point to know all of the vehicles around the apartment. Sure, it could be someone's new ride, but with so much riding on his actions, Face wasn't going to take the chance. He'd keep an eye on it and get the women out of his place a different way.

As he strolled into the apartment, he heard laughter. Walking into the living room, he saw the smiles on all four faces and felt his own mood brighten. That was until he heard what they were talking about.

"-and then Face, well he…" Amy trailed off, looking up to see Face had returned to the room. The other three women launched into a new bought of laughter and Face gave Amy a pointed look. She only smiled in return and offered her half-hearted apology. "Sorry Face, we were just sharing stories."

Face let out a sigh before lowering himself into his seat.

"Its alright. I'm glad to see everyone smiling. That is much better than I had hoped for today." He felt his shoulders drop. He suddenly realized how tired he really was. And there was a lot riding on him. His own life would soon be. As would the careers of these women if they helped him. The team was relying on him. More than that, Amy's happiness was relying on his success. It was a lot.

But things never stayed that simple.

The three women rise to their feet. Amy stood and went over to join them.

"Face, we'll help you…"

Face jumped to his feet, ready to give each a hug to say thank you. Their looks stopped him, however. He knew what was coming next before they even said it. He put on a serious look.

"No."

"You don't even know what we're going to say."

"Yes, I do. I know all of you and the answer is no."

"But Face."

"Come on Templeton."

"Why not?"

"But you need our help."

Face stood, frozen. Four women. All teaming up on him. All wanting the same thing. Seeing the looks in their faces, Face froze. He felt defeated once again. He knew he couldn't refuse. But he also knew there was no way he could agree to put these four women, all of whom he cared for deeply in some way, into that sort of trouble. Letting out his defeated sigh, Face went on.

"Fine, you can all come." There was a short lived cheer before they wilted under his stern glare. "But none of you, I repeat, NONE of you are allowed to help in anything I deem even remotely dangerous once we get over there, agreed?"

There was pouting from each woman before they finally nodded their agreement. Suddenly their smiles were back and all four moved toward the kitchen and phone to begin making arrangements. Face moved down the hallway sullenly to begin packing.

"I've already put enough people I care about in danger. I don't need it to happen to any of you." Face muttered to himself as he moved down the hallway.

He didn't hear someone following him down.


	5. Chapter 5: Let's Leave, Shall We?

Face stopped as he reached the bedroom door. He saw the bed had been made but Amy's coat was still lying there. With a sigh, he entered the room and went to his closet to find a suitcase. He was stopped in his tracks by a voice behind him.

"Thank you Face."

It was Amy. His whole body froze at the sounds of her voice. It sounded so soft, so gentle. There was no hint of the worry or anything else that had been there before. She sounded back to her confidant, trusting self. It made him smile internally. Then he turned to her, doing everything he could to show no emotion on his face.

"No problem kid. I'd do it for anyone on the team." He paused, seeing her shoulders drop a bit when he said that. He felt his own mood fall. He moved slowly over to her and grasped her chin, moving her eyes up to look at him. "Amy, I'm not just doing this for Hannibal, BA, or Murdock. I'm doing this for you too."

That seemed to reassure her. With a quick grin that actually reached her eyes, Amy turned and left. Face let out another sigh before returning to his packing. He knew exactly what he was going to need and began packing supplies. He even pulled out a case with a few of Hannibal's favorite cigars and tossed that in as well.

The final thing Face threw in was a picture of the team. It was the final picture they had taken before receiving their pardons. They were gathered in front of BA's van, all grinning like madmen. They had just managed to pull of what could easily be called their greatest case. That said something, considering their track record. But with Hannibal's plan, they had all come through with flying colors and not only saved everyone, but taken down several bad guys in the process. That was how things always seemed to work out for them.

Of course that was with BA there as the muscle and mechanical genius. With Murdock there to do the wild, crazy things on top of fly whatever barge Face managed to scrape up for them. With Hannibal there as the tactical mastermind. It was with several pieces that he had never actually done any of this before without.

He shook the thought from his head. Not only did he have to save the team, but he was now nervous with these women coming along. It was dangerous enough for them to be involved by helping him, seeing as he was going to be doing some illegal things. With them all on board and coming with him, it was becoming too much.

Face tucked the photo into the lining of the bag.

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Stevie had just finished her phone call lining up transportation for herself, Amy, and Face. Lane and Jackie had both lined up their own transportation, so things were ready to roll. As she hung up the phone, she turned to face the other women.

"Ok, so what now?"

There was a bit of a lost look between the women. While they had all been helped by the A-Team before, there was very little knowledge of how they worked. Their faces turned expectantly toward Amy, seeing as she had the most experience. Amy's face fell into a scowl.

"Well typically, next, Hannibal comes up with a plan. I guess we'll have to rely on Face for that. He contacted you all for specific reasons, maybe her has a plan?" A look of concern passed between the women. They all looked up as Face returned to the room, bag in hand and tossing Amy her jacket. He noted the looks on their faces.

"Yes?" It was Jackie who decided to jump in.

"Face, Honey, we all know you're worried about the guys, but is there a plan in place?"

Face offered up one of his trademark grins.

"Nope."

This seemed to shock everyone. They all just stared blankly back at him, too concerned to even say anything. It was Lane who spoke next.

"Ummm, Face, see, well…."

"I don't have a plan in place because I need to get everything for it. But there is a plan. I promise." Face cut her off. The look of relief on everyone's faces was palpable. Lane reached out and smacked Face's shoulder.

"Don't do that."

Face let out a laugh. It was one of the first real laughs any of the women had seen from the handsome man since they arrived back in his life. While they all sighed their relief, Face went over to the window and cautiously peered out. As he did, he turned to face the women.

"Ok, now starts step one. There is someone here, apparently watching us. They have been sitting outside in the blue sedan for most of the night. I was hoping it was nothing, but I just saw a glint of binoculars flash, so they are watching something up there and I'm not taking any chances. Grab your stuff and let's go ladies."

The firmness in his words told the ladies they could trust him. It might be unpleasant, whatever was to follow, but face would make sure everyone walked away from it. He had a way of doing that, making you feel safe. Grinning to one another, appearing a bit like love struck teenagers, the women followed Face through the door to the elevator.

As the doors to the elevator swung open, two tall men in suits were revealed. Their reactions were fast upon seeing Face and the women. They both reached into their coats. Face could have easily jumped out of the way, but that would have left the ladies out in the open. As the guns turned on them, Face reached in and hit a button, throwing the suitcase at the men. It was a complicated looking turn as he dove to drag the women to the ground.

Unfortunately, he was not quite quick enough and a bullet slammed into his shoulder. Letting out a frustrated grunt, he stood up and carefully helped the women back to their feet. Each one appeared a bit shaken. Not giving them time to process and trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder, Face gritted his teeth.

"Let's move. Follow me ladies."

He turned and ran to the stairs. Rather than running down, Face ran up the stairs. This prompted the women to tear after him.

"Face, this isn't really a way out." Amy called up after him, all four women lagging behind a bit. They were all fit, but in that instant they realized that the training that Hannibal put the guys through, it was something else.

"Right, and Face, I don't really want to stick around for more of those goons to show up and try to turn us into Swiss cheese." Stevie made her opinion known from the step behind Amy. Face ignored their complaints and kept running until he reached the roof access. Throwing his shoulder against the door, he burst through and let out a sigh of relief.

The women reached the roof with him and gasped. Before them stood a helicopter. It was sleek and gorgeous. But there was one problem, which Amy decided to voice.

"Face, how does this help us? Isn't Murdock the pilot?" Face ignored her question, striding over to the copter and jumping into the front seat. He began playing with controls before noting the women standing by the door staring at him. He motioned for them to come over and they slowly relented and came. Just as they shut the doors and Face pushed the blades up to speed to lift off, the door flew open to reveal more of the goons in suits, weapons drawn. As they prepared to fire, Face lifted off with the blades angled in their direction. This caused the men to fall flat on their faces as the helicopter took off.


	6. Chapter 6: Whose Fault?

The Helicopter settled down in a private bay at LAX and immediately was set upon by a crew to help clear it out. They helped the women out of their seats before turning to Face as he got out. The crew exchanged smiles with him before Face turned and led to women over to a small private jet sitting in the hangar. He began to climb up the stairs, only to be stopped by a voice calling up to him.

"Where on earth did you learn to fly?" Lane called up to him. He turned and smiled back over his shoulder. Then he turned and climbed the rest of the way in and call back.

"Murdock, where else."

As the women filed into the plane, they couldn't help but smile at the set up. There was champagne and more set up and ready to go. Face escorted each woman to a seat until it was just Amy. She looked up and caught his eye.

"You are full of surprises, Templeton Peck." He provided his trademark grin.

"You ain't seen nothing yet."

With that he fainted, collapsing dramatically on the floor. All four women turned in shock, only then remembering the bullet wound. All four rushed over to try and help him up but got stuck in the small cabin of the plane. After a few minutes of struggling, they managed to place him on the couch in the cabin. They had his head on Jackie's lap, feet in Stevie's, and Both Lane and Amy sitting across from him. The looks of concern gracing their faces was intense.

Finally, his eyes opened with all four standing over him. He smiled up.

"A Guy could get used to waking up like this."

That comment earned a glare and gentle smack from each of the women before there was a giggle of relief.

"You scared us, Face." Jackie spoke for all of them.

"Don't worry, there hasn't been a bullet yet that could stop me. Jealous boyfriend, angry father, perhaps those." This comment earned another glare form the group of women.

Face tried to sit up, but the pain in his shoulder made him grimace and led the women to settling him back down. At that, a member of the crew entered, peering over at Face. He had a grave look on his face as he addressed Face.

"Mr. Peck, we have some unwanted guests. You have been cleared for take-off. Might I suggest we be on our way?" Face nodded in his direction.

"Thanks Jim, I'll take it from here."

Face then stood and made his way over through into the cockpit. There was a look of determination from him which stopped the women in their tracks when they tried to stop him again. He shut the cockpit door before any of them could follow and they felt the plane start. Amy quickly jumped over and shut the door before turning to face the rest of the women.

"Well then…"

Suddenly there was a laugh shared among them. It started with Amy, who passed it to Jackie, then Lane, and finally Stevie. All four were enjoying their laughter when they felt the plane begin to move faster and decided they should seat themselves once more.

As they felt the plane lift off, the cabin fell silent before Stevie decided it was too quiet.

"Look, I think we need to clear some air."

"Right, like the fact that suddenly Face seems as wild as Murdock?" Lane offered, earning a laugh from the other women. Then she continued. "But seriously, what's going on with him?" She turned expectantly to Amy.

"You know him best, right?" Jackie offered the floor to Amy. There was a tense silence for a moment before Amy let out a sigh.

"I'm not sure about best, but maybe the longest. Face has always been interesting."

"No kidding!" All three women exclaimed.

"Well, you all know Face was an orphan, right?" There was a nod of agreement among the women. "Well you should also know that the love of his life, as he called her, left him. They were in college and he had given her his fraternity pin. Well, he tried to. But she had left. He found her again just a few years ago for the first time since before he joined the Army. She had become a nun."

There was a pause among the women and the conversation. They each processed what had just been revealed. It said a lot.

"So he hasn't really ever had family stick around?" Lane offered her guess, voicing what they all knew.

"Right. Until Hannibal took him into their little family. Face was a fresh face, but Hannibal took him in. And if I have learned anything about Face, you don't mess with someone he loves." Amy stated.

Her words rang through the cabin. They left each woman wondering, trying to understand if they fell within the category Face cared for…that he loved. His actions in the apartment complex said yes, but then again all four of them had been there.

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Face sat in the cockpit, having finally gotten high enough to turn on the autopilot. He needed to deal with this bullet wound now.

More than that, he really needed to think. He had been so worried about getting to Hannibal and now he had put the lives of four women who he deeply and desperately cared for in danger. It hurt him and he was furious with himself over it. He should have stood by his guns. He shouldn't have let them come to see him in the first place. He should have merely asked for his favor and stopped it there.

But his emotions had gotten the best of him. Each one had seen right through his façade. Each one knew there was something wrong. He hoped none knew what exactly was wrong, but he knew he was not as calm and collected here as he should be.

And it had almost cost the girls their lives.

Who the hell were these guys chasing them. More importantly, why were they chasing them? It all seemed far too complicated. It also seemed to be difficult since they had arrived so soon after Amy and the others.

Face really had no idea what steps were next. He peeled off his shirt and began the process of digging the bullet out when he heard a knock at the cabin door. Sighing, he pulled his shirt up and went to let in the visitor. He offered a sad smile when Amy came in and sat beside him.

"How are you doing?" He asked her. She gave him a shocked look.

"How am I doing? You're the one who got shot, flew a helicopter, and are now flying an airplane."

"I had to." Face said it, as if it explained everything. The look on Amy's face said it did not. As she prepared to respond, she noticed the blood on his shoulder.

"Face, can I see it?" He looked over and saw her glancing at his shoulder. He grimaced before relenting and letting Amy help peel the shirt away. She could not hide her reaction to what she saw.

"Face, please be more careful?"

Face turned to her with his trademark grin once more plastered on his face, and Amy could tell his heart was in it.

"Amy, it doesn't matter. For the team, both the one captured and the one sitting in this plane, I would do anything for." He stopped, reached for a tool and pulled the bullet from his shoulder. "And I will do exactly that. Please don't ask me to let anyone else get hurt because of me."

With that Amy saw it. She realized why Face was suddenly so serious.

He thought this entire situation was his fault.


	7. Chapter 7: Phase 1

Face stretched after he taxied into the hanger. It had taken some of his traditional Face magic, but he had been able to swing a private hanger for the jet. He stood and turned, letting out a sigh as he left the cockpit.

He smiled as he entered, finding the women had all managed to fall asleep. He peered back into the cockpit where Amy was still asleep in the co-pilot chair. After their conversation, things had gotten quiet. With everything that was going on and the high stress situation since all four women had finally arrived back into his life, it only made sense that all four would be beyond exhausted.

Face let down the stairs and made his way outside. He made quick arrangements for some transportation before returning to wake the women. He approached Stevie first, seeing as she would probably be the most difficult.

"Wakey wakey!"

"mmmm, five more minutes." Stevie pulled her jacket farther up over her head, earning a small laugh from Face. This seemed to catch her attention as she suddenly sat upright. "Oh, hi!" She seemed to suddenly realize something and quickly glanced around the room. "So I guess last night was not a dream?"

"Haha, sadly it was not." Stevie put a pouting smirk on her face.

"Sadly? Seeing me again is sad?"

"No ma'am, not in the least. But getting all of you shot at and nearly killed, that was very sad."

This caused Stevie to quit her pouting. She noticed the sad crestfallen look on Templeton's face. She patted the seat beside her and waited for him to sit. She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder and began stroking his back. He was a well-built man. Cocky, ladies' man, scam artist, sure. He was definitely all of that. But he was so much more. Stevie had seen first-hand that he could handle himself when the team had helped with her case. She'd even seen it on a few opportunities since then when he had helped with some personal security for her.

This, however, was something entirely different. It had shocked all of them when he had managed to fly the helicopter. Now he had flown a plane? And all of that had nothing on the look. Face had always played around before. His sarcastic attitude hadn't even left him when he had gotten into trouble, always trying to scam his way out. But when those goons in the elevator had pulled guns on them, something was different. Stevie couldn't put her finger on it, but Face was different. He didn't play. He didn't try to talk his way out of things. He reacted. There was ice in his eyes.

And the other women had noticed it too. When he had gone to fly, they had sat and talked about what was going on. They had learned a bit more about the case from Amy, had spoken a bit more about all of their involvement with Face well beyond their cases, and had finally come to the topic of Face since they had all arrived.

He had been nothing like any of them remembered. He had been his fun playful self at times, but the womanizing bit was gone. He had yet to hit on any of them. And his eyes.

Ice.

"Don't worry about it honey, we're all big girls. We can handle ourselves." Stevie was shaken from her thoughts as Jackie sat up and she noticed Lane doing the same. Face smiled at them as Stevie stood up to stretch and Amy joined them.

"So what now Face?" It was a quick and direct question, meant to get them moving and back on track.

"Well, now…" Face said smiling. "We go see some of Ms. Carter's friends."

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The ladies made their way out of the back of the limo. Of course Face had scammed a limo for them, just not a driver. Instead, as the four had come off the plane with their bags, Face popped a chauffeur cap onto his head, took their bags, and strolled over to the limo. After quickly tossing the bags into the trunk, he opened the door and helped each lady in. This of course elicited a collection of smiles and giggles before he shut the door and jumped into the driver's seat.

Their flight had landed them in west Texas and their drive took them nearly two hours away from the airport. The final directions had been from Lane. As they stepped out of the car, she was greeted by an older gentleman with wild white hair and a giant, pure white bushy beard. He was dressed like a modern cowboy, but he was wearing a golf cap in aa poor attempt to hide his hair. He had a huge grin on his face as he wrapped Lane in a warm hug.

"Miss Carter, it has been far too long. I was rather thrilled when you called me. And I see you brought company?" He gestured toward the three women standing with her. Face had already shut the door and was standing beside the car as a good chauffer would. Lane turned and indicated the three other women.

"This is Jackie Taylor of Dallas, Stevie Faith, the rockstar, and Amy Allen, foreign correspondent for the LA Courier Express." She paused and a grin passed amongst the four women before Lane continued her introductions. "And this is Templeton Peck, trying to hide behind us. The famous 'Face' of the A-Team."

There was a tense moment. Face did not look happy. His plan had been for no one to know who he was in this process. He didn't know who they could trust. Of course he should have known better than to think these women would work with his plan.

"And Ladies, Face, this is Grandpa Dave." Dave seemed to have a look of shock on his face. The women he had expected, but he had not expected what Lane had shared with him about the handsome chauffer. Face smiled as he walked up, tossing his hat through the window into the car before strolling over to shave Dave's hand. There was still a dumbfounded look on Dave's face, but that changed the instant their hands met. The two began shaking warmly before a look passed.

Before any of the woman could blink, both men had drawn guns and had them pressed to one another's temples without even letting their hands drop. The woman couldn't move and after a tense moment, Dave began to laugh and withdrew his gun. Face did the same and the two shook hands once more. As their hands dropped, Lane stepped forward.

"Ok, what was that?" Before Dave could open his mouth, Face offered the answer.

"Nothing Lane. Grandpa Dave just cares a great deal for you. He figured, with all you were asking for, something big was going down and wanted to make sure that whoever it was you were doing all of this for could take care of you." Face stated all of this while walking back to the car to grab the bags. He missed the look of shock on the women's faces and the smile growing on Dave's. Dave moved back over beside Lane.

"He's good. Better than you used to say even." Everyone turned to Lane at this and she began to blush deeply.

"So does that mean you'll help us?" Lane desperately wanted to distract everyone's attention away from her. Dave just offered a smile in response.

"We might just be able to do that. Though you mentioned something special?"

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Face and the women were preparing to leave. Dave had treated them to a bit of rest while he went and got everything ready for their departure. After they had loaded the car back up, Dave had pulled Face aside, leaving the women to do their last minute preparations.

"So tell me Face, what is this all about?"

"My friends. They were captured because of me. I need to fix it."

"And how does Lane factor into all of this?"

"Honestly? She didn't. She was supposed to help me meet you to get what I needed and that was it. Same for the other women." Here Face looked down at his feet. Dave could see right through him.

"But they all love you a bit more than they should, meaning they are going to be a bit more involved than they should?" Face just nodded.

"But do you love them?"

"Of course I do." There was almost an insulted look on Templeton's face at this question.

"Sure, and I don't doubt that seeing as they are all here and well and you are the one with the bullet wound. But are you in love with any of them the way they are in love with you?"

Face looked down again. He wasn't sure if he had the strength to respond to that.

"You know Dave, you are just about the smartest man I have ever met."

"Just about?"

"Haha, please don't be offended. The smartest man I know…well, it would be one hell of a feat for anyone to be in the same category, let alone out do him."

"Fair enough. People used to say that about me to my brother." The far off look in Dave's eye made Face want to ask more, but just then to women called for him. It was time to go. Face walked over to the car with Dave not far behind. After a few quick goodbyes, everyone loaded into the car. With a few sad smiles passed, the limo turned and left, loaded down with its new equipment.

They didn't hear Dave respond as he watched the cloud of dust fade.

"Good choice Hannibal. He's a good kid."


	8. Chapter 8: Does it Matter?

They were on another plane. It was their fourth flight in as many days if you counted the helicopter experience. It was hectic. It was wild and stressful.

But it had its moments.

The 5 were finally on a plane heading for Indonesia. Soon enough they would be arriving, but for now they had settled into a calm silence before the storm it seemed. The women all felt tense, but there was something about being there with Face that soothed their nerves. Even Amy hadn't shed a tear since things had begun happening. Sure, she had clung to Face's arm a time or two, but not much else.

Now with things as quiet as they were, sitting on Stevie's private jet, over 30,000 feet in their air above the Pacific Ocean, everyone was left to their thoughts. Amy, Stevie, and Lane had settled into the back, resting and playing games. This left Face up front and Jackie had just sat down beside him.

"And how are you doing honey?" Face grinned up at her Texas drawl, motioning to the seat beside him. Jackie gracefully dropped into the seat. She had form, Face had to give her that.

"All in all, I've been worse. But at the moment, I'd give anything to have the team here to help with this and for you women to be back in the US, safe and sound." This received a smack on the arm. It was an angry frustrated slap and Face turned to see fire in Jackie's eyes.

"Now don't you ever say that. We're here for you, no doubt, but each and everyone one of us are here for those boys." Jackie paused as a soft smile grew on her face. "You and your team did something special for each one of us. I for one would most certainly be six feet under if not for Hannibal's plan." She stopped here, the smile on her face gaining a coy glint. "I can't say being married to you was the worst thing to ever happen to me Templeton." She leaned toward him with these finals words.

Face grinned back. He did like Jackie. While he had certainly freaked out about the idea of marrying her, getting to know her during that case and in the years since had been delightful. The two had shared a few special moments even. Face let his usual bright smile cross his face.

"Nor for myself, Miss Taylor. I certainly couldn't complain about having someone so wonderful as Mrs. Peck, even if it was only briefly."

Jackie suddenly had an odd look on her face. She loved how he seemed to remember it, but she was also concerned. The fact was she had ended up falling for the handsome fugitive and their interactions, though limited in the time since their marriage, had only led her deeper down that rabbit hole. She knew she was in love with the strange man, but she had often wondered if he loved her back. His reactions since the phone call had certainly demonstrated that he did care in some way, but was it the way she dreamt of?

"Jackie?" his voice called her back from her musings.

"Hey honey. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"Haha, is that so?" Suddenly there was a serious glint in Jackie's face.

"Templeton, can I ask you something?"

The look and tone of her voice made Face take pause. Then he nodded for her to proceed.

"Well, so I have heard about this case and all, but something has been killing me. Why didn't Hannibal take you with them?" Face opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by a hand from Jackie. The two had not noticed the other three moving toward them as the conversation began.

"No, I don't want that excuse you fed us earlier. I want the real reason Templeton."

"Yeah!"

"I would like to know."

Lane and Stevie threw in their requests. Amy stayed silent, knowing herself why already. A quick glance passed between her and Face before he let out a defeated sigh.

"Well, alright then. You ladies have come this far and helped me so much, it only seems fair. See, you know the guys were helping on a case. That case was to rescue an LA Courier Express reporter who also happens to be Miss Allen's fiancé." Face paused, letting that info sink in. There were some soft looks and apologies offered to Amy who merely shook her head in acknowledgement with a sad smile. Then Face continued.

"Well Hannibal knew I was emotionally compromised at the time and unable to truly engage in the endeavor, so he felt it might be best to exclude me."

There was a pause as the women processed what he had said. Only one of them knew why he was compromised, but the next question was so soft and quiet, Face thought he had imagined it. He certainly did not expect it.

"Was he right?" Face's eyes jumped up to Amy. She looked to be fighting back tears as she stared at him. Face was caught in the power of her stare, unable to break away. The other women watched, looking first to Amy, then back at Face.

"Does it matter?" The air grew thick with the tension which had arisen. Six small words exchanged and the mood of the entire plane shifted. The tears now fell openly from Amy as she turned and stormed off toward the back of the plane. Face turned forward in his seat, pulling out some papers to review. Obviously the exchange was over, but the other three women stood feeling lost. They moved to sit in the back with Amy.

"Ok, spill." Stevie demanded, earning a watery glare from Amy. The other two women reached out to rub Amy's shoulders.

"Look Amy, we all love that man. It is plain as day to pretty much everyone but him. But I feel like we are missing part of the story." Lane offered her attempt at peace between the four women. Stevie nodded her agreement, offering an apologetic look in Amy's direction. Amy slowly sat up to face the other three women.

"Well I guess it is only fair. Where to start. Well Hannibal has a rule about dating clients. I started as a client for the team, long before we ever met any of you. He was cute, no doubt, but he kept his distance. There is one-person Face respects enough not to piss off and that is Hannibal. He will mess with BA, he will frustrate women to no end, and even annoy Murdock sometimes, but Face would bend over backwards for Hannibal. He has on more than one occasion. Well, after the case, I worked my way in to becoming a part of their cases, at least as often as they'd let me. It wasn't much, but it made me a part of the team. It was another off limits situation for Face. Sure there was plenty of banter, but nothing ever actually happened. But it didn't matter. I was falling for him. He does that, you know. Makes anyone, let along women fall in love with him." There were nods around the room as everyone agreed with her. Amy let out a frustrated sigh before going on.

"Well, I left. I got a great job offer and took it. It meant leaving the guys, but I couldn't pass it up. The whole team showed up to say goodbye and at the time they were still fugitives, so them showing up at the airport to say goodbye was touching. I even got a goodbye hug from BA. Hannibal had his big speech and Murdock gave me his own crazy advice." Amy smiled as the thought back. Then a serious look came on her face.

"Then there was my goodbye from Face. Well, it was almost too awkward to really be called a goodbye. We stood, both staring at our feet for a while. After a moment, Hannibal coughed and mentioned the rest of the guys that maybe they should go. They did, and it was just Face and I standing there. He said 'so' and I said 'so' before we looked at one another. That was all it took. He kissed me." There was a smile and a laugh in Amy's voice. But it was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

"He kissed me and there was a ton of emotion in that kiss. I remember wondering if I really wanted to leave. If I could actually walk away from any of them, let alone from him. But then he turned his back, heading toward the guys. He called back over his shoulder 'see ya around, kid.' Then he was gone. My heart broke in that moment. We spent time over the next year or so chatting, but I ended up losing contact. It hurt too much. I wanted what he could never offer. Face couldn't love one woman. He could not settle down and be a happy man. I knew that. We all do. But it still hurt. So I cut him out. I moved on."

There was another pause filling the time between them. The woman sat and at a sniffle noticed that Amy was fighting tears once more. She looked around at the other women before continuing, trying her hardest to keep her voice from cracking.

"At least I thought I did. Now, I'm not so sure."

After another drawn out pause filled the room, the ladies all turned to look at Face, once more detached and preparing up front. Then they turned to look at Amy. It was Jackie who realized it first.

"So you were the reason Hannibal didn't think he could handle it?" This caught the attention of Lane and Stevie who both had lightbulbs going off. All Amy could do was nod as she broke down in tears. The other women all gathered her into a hug. Face had broken each of their hearts at one time or another, but they all still loved him. They knew her curse.

Finally, Stevie pulled back, adding more to the conversation.

"And now you feel safe and wonderful being with him again and are wondering if you are over him and ready to be with your fiancé or if you still love Templeton."

There was another nod which received a laugh from Lane.

"Amy, you are in the same boat as the rest of us." Amy looked up with a strange smile on her face.

"Not quite. All of you have actually had a chance to be with Face. I've even seen him with a few of you." She offered a knowing glance at Jackie and Lane who both blushed. "Not that it matters. He is here for the team. And now all of you have been dragged into this. I'm sorry for that."

There was another round of hugs as the women settled down for the rest of their flight. There were only a few hours left and sleep would probably be best for them all.


	9. Chapter 9: Captured

The plane had just landed on the runway as Face was shaken from his sleeping state. He felt eyes on him and looked up to see all four women standing over him.

"Wakey Wakey." Stevie mocked.

"Come on now Stevie, he needs his beauty sleep to keep up with all of us." Lane teased alongside.

"He would need a lot more than that, honey." Jackie threw in her comment.

"Don't give him such a hard time, ladies, those good looks of his won't last forever. Then he'll be stuck being normal like the rest of us." Amy called out, turning away. Face didn't know why, but her comment cut him. He knew he was still in trouble with her. He jumped to his feet to join the ladies outside.

Reaching the foot of the airplane left all five exhausted. While they had slept during the flight in an incredibly roomy private airplane cabin, it was not the most restful sleep considering what was awaiting them.

The rest of the day moved quickly, getting everyone into the hotel as well as the weapons obtained from Dave. Once settled, Jackie had used her connections and set up a meeting for Face. Despite their protests, he and attended the meeting alone and gotten everything they needed, though the ladies still were unsure.

Face had just left to visit the parking structure of the hotel. It was apparently where he was getting everything set up. The women had settled down, knowing tomorrow they would be moving and probably wouldn't have time to relax.

Then there was a knock at the door. Amy had gone over to answer it, letting in the food cart which Jackie had ordered for them.

None of them saw the two men hidden beneath the cart, not until the gas was spreading and they jumped out.

It happened in a moment and all four women had been incapacitated. They were carefully laid on the cart and removed from the room.

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Amy woke to a throbbing headache. With a grimace, she began to open her eyes while sitting up. It was a bad combination and nearly made her throw up. She groaned and laid back down.

Her groan caught the attention of the other women. Stevie called out.

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you doing?"

"I have a headache which could knock out BA."

Suddenly there was a laugh and Amy opened her eyes to see a ton of gold hanging in front of her eyes. It took a moment for her to process what she was seeing, but the appearance of the now untamed Mohawk caused her to jump up, forgetting her headache completely.

"BA! I'm so glad to see you!" She threw her arms around the man's neck. When she didn't feel him hug her back, she looked over his shoulder to see he was chained into a wall. He snickered into her shoulder.

"Its good to see you too little mama, but what are you all doing here?"

Amy paused at that and looked around to see all four women sitting in the room as well as Murdock huddled over someone in the corner.

"Well Face-"

"Faceman is here?" Murdock jumped up, running over to where Amy and the other three women sat with BA.

"haha, good to see you too Murdock, Face is here. He was coming to get you guys."

"And let me guess, you all decided he needed some help?" Amy couldn't understand the anger that seemed to be rising in Murdock's eyes. The man took a quick glance over at BA, but the calm look in the sergeant's eyes made Murdock pause, letting out a sigh before going on.

"It is good to see you Amy, I'm sorry. It's just that we don't want anyone else getting into this mess. It would be bad enough for face to be trying to come in here, and now all four of you are here." There was a defeated sigh on Murdock's face. Amy felt sad, but then noticed something.

"Where is Hannibal."

There was a cough from the corner Murdock had been in before. Everyone except BA moved over there. Lying on a poorly made bed of straw was Hannibal. His face was bloody and there were several cuts all over his body. It didn't say anything for the internal damage.

"Good to see ya kid." Hannibal wheezed out. He was no longer even the fit old man he had been when Amy first joined them. He was beaten and from the looks of things, dying."

"Hannibal, you look like crap!" Stevie said. The tension was thick until a laugh rose from Hannibal's chest. The rest of the group joined in. Finally, Hannibal motioned toward Murdock who helped him to his feet and they all moved over to sit with BA.

"So, you said Face is here?" Amy saw a look in Hannibal's eyes. She thought he was upset.

"Hannibal, I had to. I didn't know who else to turn to. I didn't have you, BA, Murdock, even my fiancé. I needed to talk to someone. I know you didn't trust him on this mission, but I needed hel-" Hannibal raised a hand, causing her to stop mid-sentence.

"Kid, I'm glad you went to get Face. There is no one else I know of who could get us out of here. He is our best bet. Even I couldn't pull off what he will." The look on Hannibal's face relaxed Amy. If Hannibal trusted Face to save them, there was no way she couldn't. Hannibal coughed and Murdock carefully led everyone else away. Ba turned away and laid down. He looked like he was napping.

"Kid, what are you doing here?" Amy offered a sad look at Hannibal.

"It was my fault, Hannibal. I'm why you all got caught. If I wasn't here, Face could have helped, and you all never would have been caught."

"Amy, don't stress. None of this was your fault. And I always trusted Face. I still do. I didn't want him on this mission because I didn't trust you with him."

Amy froze in her spot. Hannibal didn't trust her? There was a stern fatherly look in his eyes.

"Amy, Face adores you. He loves you above and beyond even what I saw with him and Leslie. Believe me, I know. But as much as I trust him, I could never be so cruel to ask him to save the man you chose over him."

Amy stopped. She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but Hannibal saw them coming. He reached out to grab her hand.

"Miss Allen, Face is the closest thing I have ever had to a son. But know this, whether you choose to let yourself love him back and show it, that is up to you. I just didn't want you two figuring that out while we dodged bullets." There was a small laugh and Amy suddenly felt her own tension relax.

"Besides, if having the team here was motivating for Face, imagine how much more determined he will be once he discovers this maniac also has the four most important women in his life."

At the laugh, everyone else had returned. They heard this last part and there was a smile among the group. Then Murdock offered a polite cough.

"Colonel, I think you should tell her."

Hannibal looked over at Murdock with a sad look. He nodded his agreement, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door to their crypt like room opened and a man entered.

"Miss Taylor, Miss Faith, Miss Carter, delightful to see you all." The man came into the light and Amy saw him.

"And Miss Allen, how nice."


	10. Chapter 10: Rescue

Face shook his head in frustration. I had been nearly two weeks since he'd lost the women. His life had gone from great to terrible and somehow had managed to get even worse. He stood staring at the notes pinned to the board before slamming his fist into it once again.

He'd been chasing leads for two weeks. He had returned to the room only to find the women missing and the room a mess. He knew he had screwed up yet again. They'd been in the country a day and already he had proven why Hannibal did not bring him.

But Face had not taken it lying down. He'd found some finger prints and began hunting. Face may not have been much of a hunter in the traditional sense, but when his friends were in trouble, he was one of the best.

And he had done quite well. So far he had knocked over 3 different warehouses, a brothel, and two office buildings. Pretty impressive for one may, if he did say so himself. Not that it really mattered. Each time had just led him to one more step. He had just missed the big guys at each meeting, lost chasing from behind. And each day he had gotten farther and farther away from the team and the ladies.

Face thought back to the last time he had seen them. He thought of how much he had enjoyed Jackie's laugh, Stevie's wild side, even Lane's astute observations. But there was one person who it upset him even more that he had lost.

Amy.

When he had last seen her, the two were still not talking over his comments on the plane. He was an idiot and he knew it. Whether she was marrying someone else or not, he was going to save her. He was going to get her away from this hell he had dragged her into. He was going to love her.

As he sank to his knees and let out a sigh of frustration, Face looked one last time hopelessly at the board.

And something caught his eye.

Face jumped up. There was a picture. One he had taken the day the women were taken. He'd seen someone stumbling around the garage and it seemed odd. Face had taken the photo, planning on checking with the women. That had never happened and in his haste and anger, Face had forgotten about the picture, but now staring at it. Now knowing more about the case and everyone involved. Now, it all made sense.

Face sprinted to the bathroom. He threw off his clothes to jump in the shower. It was time for a scam. Not just any scam. No, if this was going to work, this was going to have to be the greatest scam he had ever pulled off.

Was it going to work? Face thought about it, truly unsure. There was so much which could go wrong. What if?

Then Face saw them in his mind. The team, the women, all smiling at him. Then all calling for him. It didn't matter the risk. They needed him and he was going to save them.

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The man stared down at his hands. He was not exactly a young man anymore, but he wasn't old either. Didn't help that they still called him kid, but that was part of the gig.

That thought set his head straight. Kid. That's why he was here. That is why he had gone through everything over the past few weeks. To set this up. To save them. It was a now or never sort of deal. And for their sake, it was now.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door in a commanding way. Everything he had done in his life was preparation. It was now that his skills would truly be put to the test. He smiled up as the door slowly creaked open and a pair of green eyes peeked out from behind it.

"Good evening, my name is…."

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Amy struggled to sit up. Her head was throbbing and she could barely open one eye from the bruising. She felt for sure she must have a broken rib. She sat in the same stone crypt like rom she had been in for nearly two weeks. They were all there. Each one had been put through some sort of hell. At least they had only beat the women up until now.

Of course, not getting what they wanted, there was no telling how much else they would do.

Amy looked over at Murdock. He was still standing, but the black eyes denoted his broken nose and his arm hung awkwardly at his side. BA couldn't stand anymore and his shoulders had been wrenched out of place a time or two in the interrogations. The women all had their fair share of bruises and cracked bones.

But Hannibal had it the worst. Several ribs were cracked, his nose had been broken twice, an arm had been yanked out of place too many times, and he had even been given a few cuts from knifes. All in all, it was a real mess. It was becoming a bit too much to bear. And the hardest part for Amy was the who and the why.

Just as her mind turned to that thought, the door creaked open and he walked back in. With a cruel grin on his face, he looked down at Amy.

"Miss Allen, we have someone here who wants to see you."

All Amy could do was stare. Then she felt the anger rising in her throat. As he motioned for the men who had come in with him to grab her, she began to struggle. It didn't last long before they had her on her feet and she was standing before him. She drew in a deep breath and spit into his grinning face.

Which earned her a smack in the face. Hard.

Everyone else in the room jumped up, even Hannibal. They were stopped, however, when he flourished a gun.

"Next one to move gets one right between the eyes. Then I'll kill Miss Allen just to spite them."

With that, he turned and led the men dragging her out of the room. Amy watched through eyes which she could hardly keep open as her feet scraped the ground. She hurt all over and what hurt most was that Face wasn't there. He had promised all of them, but he wasn't there.

Just as she came to that thought, they dumped her into a chair. Just as Amy felt herself begin to pass out, she heard a voice come from the corner.

"Leave us alone. I need a moment to work with her."

It sounded strange, but she knew the voice. She nearly jumped to her feet upon hearing it, but took all her restraint and stayed seated and crestfallen. There was a nod from him before he walked out the door, shutting her in alone with the new voice. She felt her heart soar as she saw him come to stand before her.

"Amy?"

She threw herself into his arms and began to cry.

"It's ok Amy, I'm here." Amy let out a few more sobs before pulling back.

"But why are you here?"

The look on his Face said she was being ridiculous. And she knew it as well. With that one look, she knew that it didn't matter. No matter what had happened between them ever and in the past, he would always come for her. He would move mountains to get to her.

"Ok, sorry. So what's the plan?"

"Simple, you go back to the others and all of you leave."

"Really? That simple?"

He smiled up at her, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Yeah kid, that simple."

Amy had had it. Here she was, thrilled beyond measure to see him and he was still calling her kid. She had had enough. She smacked him, earning a sad look from him.

"What was that for?"

"Why do you keep calling me kid?" Tears began to slide down her cheeks. "Why can't we just be Amy and Templeton instead of Face and kid?"

Amy did not expect what came next. Face lifted her to her feet, wrapping his arms tightly around her. With one hand, he gently cupped her face and pulled her into a kiss with passion never before imagined. Amy felt like she was flying.

Then he pulled back.

"Because it will make this easier. I love you Amy." He paused, and Amy could see it in his eyes. She could feel it in his beating heart. But there was something else and it scared her. "Now go get the others and get out of here kid. There is a van two miles down the road. Once you get there, there is a plane lined up to get everyone out of here."

Amy stared for a moment as things clicked into place.

"You aren't coming." It was a statement, more than a question. Face knew it. Watching her reaction, he felt his heart breaking. But that had been the deal, the scam. More than that, after seeing her like this, Face knew he would have to do something he had not actually done since leaving Nam…he was going to rip Jason's heart from his chest, bare-handed if he needed to. This woman deserved love and Jason had conned her over that. Even Face never stooped so low.

More than that, Jason had hurt the woman he loved. For that, Jason would pay, even if Face went down with him.

Because of course it was Jason. He was the man Face had seen in the garage. He was the one who had been running the entire show. Face didn't really know why, but at that moment it didn't matter.

"No." Face was done scamming and lying to her. He was done hiding. He was about to break.

"Please don't do this to me Face."

"I have to Amy. That's the deal. That's the scam. They get me, all of you go free. Even the guys. And I have to do it. It is what needs to happen. I love everyone in that room far too much to let anything else happen."

Suddenly the lock on the door clicked and it began to swing open. As it did, Amy grabbed Face in a desperate hug and kissed him for all she was worth. Men came storming into the room, wrenching her away and hauling him off to be chained. But before they were separated, Face heard Amy's voice, a harsh whisper in his ear.

"Don't you dare do this to me. Promise me you'll come back."

Suddenly there was a resounding smack. Amy looked up into Jason's eyes, her own seething with hatred for her fiancé. He'd been behind all of this. At the smack, Amy looked over at Face. There was something different about him. The ice cold look was back in his eyes and even with chains and 4 men holding him back, it didn't look as if it would be enough. Jason grabbed Amy painfully by her arm and dragged her from the room. It wasn't much, but the fear he seemed to have of Face made her feel better. As the moved down the hall, there was a painful scream from the room, one which left Amy's heart collapsing on itself.

As she was tossed back into the room, she looked up at Jason.

"Well, I don't have need for you lot anymore. Get out of here before I change my mind."

As he left, the others turned to Amy who sat clutching her knees and crying. Everyone seemed confused until Hannibal's voice cut through with the answer.

"Face."


	11. Chapter 11: Faceless

They were an odd conglomeration as they stumbled down the road. Each one was supporting one another, carefully dragging and lifting one another as needed. BA still couldn't stand straight and Hannibal had to be all but carried. But they made it. As they came into sight of the vehicle Face had told Amy about, the women stopped. BA and Murdock stopped a few steps further along, turning to Face them but Hannibal kept going.

After a few tense minutes, Amy let out a frustrated sigh. It was a sentiment the rest of the women seemed to share. They stood, anger beginning to show on their faces. But there was fear there too.

"Stop!" Hannibal didn't even slow down at Stevie's shout.

"We have to do something!" Jackie's cry seemed to fall on deaf ears, but now the women had Murdock and BA's attention. There was a soft look in BA's eyes, one which the women were unused to.

"Ladies, you need to keep moving."

"But what about Face?" Amy's voice cracked as she said his name. It was all far too much. Murdock stepped up next.

"Well we can't really do anything for him until we get whatever goodies he left for us in the car." There was a smug grin on Murdock's face as they all suddenly became interested in following Hannibal. The old officer simply opened the front door and climbed in. He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a cigar while the rest of the team began pulling the car apart.

It became clear after a few minutes there was nothing there. They all gathered in front of Hannibal. The looks ranged from anger do pure loss of energy.

"But why Hannibal?" Murdock suddenly seemed as lost as the women. Ba's face revealed he was as lost as Murdock. The old man merely offered them a sad smile. As he lit his cigar, there was a massive explosion. Everyone collapsed as the building they had just escaped from exploded, the ground trembling with the force of it. Before anyone could react, Hannibal spoke.

"Face…" The group could hear the pain in his voice. The loss. The sadness.

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It had taken almost an hour before anyone had the strength to move. Oddly enough, it was Amy. Since the explosion, she had not shed a single tear. She had gasped. She had dry heaved a few times. But ultimately, she had not cried. After some time for mourning, she had gotten everyone into the car, started it up, and driven them to the airport.

On arrival, she'd asked under Face's name and sure enough was soon directed to a private hangar. This led to another round of tears, but Hannibal managed to calm everyone enough to join her.

So now here they sat, thousands of feet in the air, flying away from what was the biggest tragedy any of them had faced. Every single one of them had loved Face. He was family in one way or another.

"I know he always seemed so full of himself, but it was part of his charm. Besides, he wasn't as self-absorbed as he pretended to be. He came to help me out a few times after the case and not once did I have to pay anything. He was just happy to be there." Lane reminisced with a sad smile.

"He was like that. He was private security for me a few times on tours where I was having issues. Doesn't matter how you cut it, Face was a great guy." Stevie threw in her piece, sniffling as she did.

"God, why did he have to go and end it this way? I was crazy about him. Even had him once." Jackie said, the sad smile stretching her face as well.

"Yeah, ol Faceman was special. He…he was my best friend…" Murdock broke down into tears as he remembered Face. Murdock wasn't flying. Face had lined up a pilot since he wasn't sure of what state the team would be in when he found them. It was strange to watch, but it was BA who wrapped his arm around Murdock's shoulders to comfort him.

"Come on now man, don't cry like that. Face would be upset if he saw us all like this. He was always playing along with your crazy ideas Murdock, always getting you ladies to love him." BA stopped for a minute before turning to Amy. "And falling in love."

This cause the entire room to tense. Amy still had a stone look on her face, but as BA said this the cold look turned to anger. Before anyone could say anything, she stood up and stormed to the back of the plane.

Jackie voiced it next.

"He loved her, didn't he?"

There was a tense moment before Hannibal nodded and Murdock dove in.

"Those two go way back. They had their moments, sure, but never the moment. But that's what made them, them. They were all their moments. They just never got to enjoy them." The downfallen look was painful to see.

"So that explains it." Lane spoke after a few moments of silence.

"Explains what?" Stevie asked.

"Last time Face and I spoke before this, I was hoping to ask if we could be more. I knew how he was with women, but I was hoping it could be different. I wanted him. It was the one time I have ever actually called him a coward, when he walked away from me."

Everyone paused to let that sink in. Jackie went next.

"To be fair, we had our moment too. I asked him the last time I saw him if he really minded us being married that much. I said some pretty rude things when he left…called him a coward too." Everyone turned to Stevie.

"What?"

There was a pause before she finally stopped.

"Ok, so maybe we went through something like that too. It was my last performance of my last tour. He spent the night watching over me. I really wanted more, but he kept stopping me. He left and I might possibly have used a certain c-word."

"Look ladies, Face may have been a ladies' man, but he would never do something like that to any of you. It wasn't that he was a coward." BA stopped and looked to the back of the plane where Amy had drawn herself up into the seat. "He was already in love with someone else."

BA's words struck deep for everyone. They all knew they had loved Face, but looking at Amy, they also knew they had never loved him the way she did. Hannibal knew best as he struggled to his feet to walk to sit beside her.

"How ya doin' kid?"

"Stop."

"Stop what?"

"Calling me kid. I can't take it anymore. It kept me from him. It drove us into this. It killed him. Damn it Hannibal, calling me kid killed him." She stopped, staring at Hannibal. Suddenly the tears sprung to her face unbidden. She reached out and steadied herself on the old man's shoulders. "Hannibal, he promised me he would come back. He promised."

Hannibal didn't say a word as Amy punched his chest. He let her go for a minute before pulling her into a hug. He felt tears springing to his own face.

"Amy Amanda Allen, I need to tell you something. Templeton, he was something special. He had a head on his shoulders like none I have ever seen before. The looks were an added plus, but they always got him into trouble. Lots of trouble. In fact, that's where I found him. It's really where I found the whole team. BA was in trouble for punching another officer, Murdock was in danger of being taken off to the ward, and Face…well, Face was in it 6 ways to Sunday. He had been courting a general's daughter, managed to swing a giant concert for the entire battalion, and opened his little country club. But the way he did it got him in trouble with a lot of big brass. So I took them all in. BA needed a firm hand, Murdock needed someone to embrace his wild side, they were easy." Hannibal paused, looking down into Amy's eyes. With some struggle, she helped him settle down into a seat before she sat beside him.

"Face though, he was difficult. He needed a firmer hand and in a different way." There was now a grin on Hannibal's face. "He reminded me of…well, of me and my brother when we were his age. So he became a part of our team and so young. We were close, but after the Hanoi job, we became family. Living on the run…well, BA and I were used to it. Murdock didn't really experience it much living in the asylum, but Face, he had it rough. He wanted fame and fortune, but not to be infamous. He took it hard." Hannibal's look suddenly turned sad.

"I have spent the past 15 years watching out for that kid. I taught him everything I knew. I watched him screw up. I watched him run scams and break hearts. I watched him become a man. And I knew, when he fell in love." Amy let out an involuntary sniffle at that. Hannibal smiled over at her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Amy, when I said I didn't trust the two of you together, this was why. Face was head over heels in love with you. And I knew if anything happened to get you into trouble, Face would have moved the world to save you. To be honest, it is probably the only reason we are free right now because I had no ideas. But he also knew the only way they would let us go was to get something else they wanted…Face." Hannibal stopped. He let Amy process all he had said. Suddenly her anger broke and she truly broke down. She threw her arms around Hannibal's shoulder.

Hannibal, I screwed up. I loved him and I ran. He still fought for me. I got you guys in trouble and he still helped me. I got everyone else here in trouble and he still came to get us. He told me he loved me when I saw him last and I could only get angry with him." Amy paused, her words punctuated by broken sobs. "Hannibal, what did I do?"

The old man pulled her in close for a hug. Amy's whole body shook with her crying, drawing the attention of the rest of the plane who cautiously made their way to her. Hannibal finally pulled her up to look at him.

"Amy, don't you dare think this is your fault. Face was a good man. Heck, he was a great man and he deserves a lot more than our crying over him. He gave his life for those he loved and I can think of no way he would rather have gone. Face loved each and every person in this room. So don't let this moment tear you down. Don't let us losing him end his fight nor your happiness. Think on all those good memories you were all talking about. Think of how he made you smile. Take that. Celebrate Templeton Peck."

"Here here Colonel." Murdock added with a sad smile.

The mood in the entire cabin was incredibly somber as they crossed the Pacific.


	12. Chapter 12: Moving On

Amy threw her head back and let out a frustrated sigh. She had been back for nearly a week. After hiding in her apartment for a few days, Hannibal and the guys had managed to drag her out. She was back in the US, but everywhere she went at the paper and even outside reminded her of Face. It really wasn't fair.

But then the ladies had shown up too. Once the guys had managed to get her outdoors, Jackie had slid up and more or less kidnapped her. Amy wasn't really sure whether she had gone willingly or not, but all four women were gathered together once more in the back of a limo. They were coming from the airport. Lane was reporting back to Grandpa Dave and had asked the other women to come along, not quite sure if she could answer on her own.

Dave had come out to greet them as the car pulled up, but his smile disappeared at the broken looking women before him. The old man strolled over to Lane and just wrapped her into a hug without saying anything. It was about that time that the guys got out of the car.

Everyone else missed the sad look that passed between Dave and Hannibal.

"Let's go inside. You can all settle in and tell me what I missed." There was a short round of sniffles from the woman burying her face in his chest. "Or we can just get some food."

The gang trudged indoors. The heat in Texas was becoming a bit unbearable and everyone was ready to get away. As they gathered in Dave's living room, the old man sat before the women. Before he could say anything, Lane opened up.

"He's gone Dave."

"You mean that man with the handsome smile who pulled a gun on me last time he was here?" his comments earned a slight giggle from a few of the women, though they did their best to cover them up. "Well where has he gone to?"

There was a tense moment. None of the women looked like they could say anything. It was finally Hannibal who spoke.

"Dave, is it? What the ladies mean is that Fa…Templeton Peck is no longer among the living."

"And why is that?"

"Because of me." Amy said it so quietly that no one else was sure they heard it. Amy wasn't even sure she had said it out loud until Dave turned to face her, his dark eyes burning into her with such an intense gaze.

"And why is that, my dear?"

"Because I dragged him into this. I dragged all of them into this. It wasn't fair. It was foolish and a mess. Everyone here got hurt because of it and Fa…." She fought for control. "Templeton is dead. Because of me."

Dave simply stood, offering the girl a smile. It was a smug smile, the sort which said he knew something. Amy watched him for a moment, still fighting with her own tears and emotions. Finally, she'd had enough.

"WHAT?!"

Dave did not answer. He simply walked away, the smug smile still planted firmly on his face. He was gone for a few minutes and when he returned, there was a rolled up blueprint in his hand. He strolled over to the table and everyone else rushed to follow him. As he arrived, he prepared to toss the paper onto the table. Before he could, however, a rain of gunfire poured into the room and everyone collapsed onto the ground.

"Now now, Miss Allen, miss Taylor, Miss Faith, Miss Carter. I think all of you ladies should just come on out here and leave this poor old man alone to his death." The voice called over a loud speaker. Amy felt her throat tense. She knew that voice. It pissed her off to no end. It angered her even more. Not only had Face gone and died, but apparently he had allowed this jerk to live. She made her way over to the wall along with everyone else and carefully peered over.

Outside stood a row of trucks. There were probably 25 men all armed to the teeth with guns trained on the house. Amy felt her stomach drop. Then she felt a pang of disgust as her eyes fell to Jason. He was alive and standing. He did not look good. He had an appearance similar to Two-Face and did at least seem to be struggling to stand.

She was pissed. Face was gone and hadn't even finished the job.

But that anger motivated her. She looked over to Hannibal who just nodded. He waited until Jason made his next demand.

"Send the ladies out Dave. You have two minutes, then we blow this pathetic little shop." That was all Hannibal needed. He glanced over at Dave who just shrugged. Then, at Hannibal's actions, the entire group moved to the back of the house. Dave and BA brought up the rear with Hannibal and Murdock taking point.

As they reached the back of the house, they saw it. Situated about 50 feet from the house was a shed. Beside the shed stood an old helicopter. It wasn't in the greatest shape, but a quick word from Dave confirmed the thing ran. With nothing else to go on, the entire group tore off for the chopper.

Their two minutes were up as they reached it and climbed in. Jason was growing tired of everything and signaled for his men to start shooting. As they did, Murdock started the engine. The cough of machine guns drowned out the chopper blades for a few seconds and then they were airborne. It was a wild ride, only made more insane as they feared BA would throw himself out, but after several tense moments, they managed to find a place to hide. It worked out well as the chopper was giving out.

Murdock settled them into a clearing. After checking the perimeter, the group returned to make their next set of plans. But Amy was not in that. She was still lost and angry with Dave. She had to know why he was so smug. So she stormed over to give her a piece of his mind. Dave saw her coming. He held up his hands for peace and moved to gather everyone in a circle. Amy finally let her curiosity win out as she joined the group.

"Ladies and gentleman, I need to show you all some things." There was a pause before Dave decided it was safe to go on. "When you all last visited me, it was for weapons, yes, but it was for something more." There was a crazy glint in the old man's eyes. Amy noted this wearily. "It was this!"

Dave triumphantly threw down the open blue prints with a photo on top of it. There were stares of disbelief as everything began to process. Amy felt herself come out of shock just in time to turn and see Hannibal's fist connect with Dave's jaw, knocking the old man out cold.


	13. Chapter 13: Brother?

Before anyone else could react, Hannibal jumped onto of the unconscious Dave and started to pummel him. No one had ever seen the old man lose his cool like that. Which meant it took a few moments before anyone moved to stop him. By then, Dave had begun to groan and his nose was bleeding. As BA and Murdock restrained Hannibal, Lane moved over to help the battered man sit up.

"Nice to see you too John." Dave mumbled, pinching his nose to stop the bleeding.

"Don't start with me." The venom in Hannibal's voice got a strange look even from BA. Tension was too thick to stomach and Amy felt herself ready to break down. Based on the hurt look in Lane's eyes, she felt the same way.

"Don't start with you? I give you news like this and all you can tell me is not to start?" Dave stood up, shrugging off Lane's help. There was a fire in his eyes.

"You know damn well that these women deserved this news much sooner."

"Ah, I see. So their pain for the past week has been my fault?"

"Yes." There was not a moment's hesitation in the colonel's face. It seemed clear the two knew one another, but no one was quite sure where or why. It was Murdock who caught it.

"Excuse me, Dave, right?" He waited for the confirmation from Dave before continuing. "Your last name is not Smith by any chance, is it?"

This earned a bout of outrageous laughter from Dave. The man stroked his beard thoughtfully before gesturing to Hannibal.

"Only as much as his last name is Smith." His cryptic words lost them for a moment before everyone turned to look at Hannibal. The Colonel's eyes darted around before falling.

"Yes, Dave is my brother." The collective gasps of shock which echoed around were enough to show this was not something anyone had anticipated. But the moment of peace was gone as soon as it started. There was once more fire in Hannibal's eyes which Dave returned with a passion.

"A Brother who betrayed me."

"Oh, I betrayed you? What about you Mr. high and mighty? You drag people into these situations. You get them to love and adore you where they would do anything for you. Then you get hyped up on the "jazz"." Dave placed air quotes around the word jazz to emphasis his point. He continued, far more subdued and somber. "Then things like this happen. You lose people. You know why that fool did this."

"He did it for us." Amy spoke up for the first time, coming between the two. There was a new fire in her eyes as she tried to figure out what was going on. Dave's attention suddenly turned to her before a soft smile broke. He turned and walked away. "No…"

"What?" Amy felt incredulous that Dave felt any right to tell her Face did not do this for them. She was ready to take over for Hannibal yelling at the old man, Lane's feelings be damned. But Dave turned around at her words. His look was soft and caring. It was also knowing.

"No, he did not do it for all of you. Sure, he would have done a hell of a lot for you boys." Dave indicated BA and Murdock. "And for you women." Here Dave noted Lane, Stevie, and Jackie. "He would have even bent over backwards for you." Here Dave pointed to Hannibal. Finally, after a deep breath, Dave turned his gaze once more to Amy. "But for you, Miss Allen, he did this. He was ready to give his life to let you get away. But I think he knew something. That is why he asked for this." Here Dave indicated the blueprints before them.

On the blueprints was a very complicated and small remote detonator for the explosives. Once which could easily have been hidden on Face.

And in the picture, taken outside Amy's apartment and dated two days ago, was Face. He had a black eye, but otherwise was unharmed.

VXVXVXXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVXVX

Face cursed himself. He had let Jason and his goons get away. Blowing up the damned building should have worked. That was where all the big names were. Yet somehow, it failed. Face closed his eyes and thought back to that night.

 _Flashback_

 _Amy had just left. She had been dragged from the room. Watching her threw Face into a rage. He was a madman. He did smile at her making him promise though. It was why he'd asked Dave for "something special." He had figured out who the old man was. It was obvious, especially after a few words. And he knew what Amy was going to ask. Now he had to fight to make it out. BA was terrifying and strong, Murdock was wild and unpredictable, and John was just a damned good fighter._

 _Face…he was calculated. He was calm, cool, and dangerous. No one had really ever seen the man fight. He had been too caught up in appearances to remember his street brawling days from his youth. Face was calculated, cruel, and fast. And it took him no time, as soon as Amy was safely out of the room to remove himself from the hold of the four men and incapacitate them._

 _Damn he was good._

 _But his job wasn't done. Face slipped a gun from one of the men and carefully made his way out of the room. Face had made a career in recent years particularly of not killing people. These men, however, they had crossed boundaries he would not forgive them for._

 _One in particular, Jason, would never see the light of day again if Face had anything to say about it._

 _He made his way through the building, carefully incapacitating anyone he found. As he did, he returned them to the bunker. It would give them the best chance of surviving the blast._

 _He wasn't sure how long it took, but finally Face felt ready to leave. He began his trek across the yard and gardens. As he reached the gate, he pulled out the cigar and placed it in his teeth. The label was the detonator. He lit the cigar and looked up in time to see an enraged Jason staring back at him. Suddenly there was ice in Face's eyes again. He could see Jason visibly flinch from his look. That placed a small smirk as Face held up the cigar and set off the explosives._

 _End of Flashback_

The resulting explosion had been far larger than Face had planned. It had taken him two days to sneak around and place the explosives properly. The explosion had thrown his 20 feet and knocked him out. He had woken up the next day and began making his way back to US soil.

But he had found something he did not like. As he reached the airport and prepared to board a plane, Jason and some of his goons had joined.

Jason was a mess, which Face liked, but he was still alive and moving. More than that, based on the look in his eye, Jason was out to find Amy in the hopes that would lead him to Face. Suddenly Face's anger was back. He boarded his plane after learning where Jason would be landing. LAX. How fitting.

Jason would never touch Amy, Face would be sure of that.


End file.
